Heavy Blizzard
by Kaoden
Summary: There's a big blizzard hitting Magnolia and the one person expected to shine, Gray Fullbuster, is instead being eaten away by his past. Will he ever get over the death of his teacher, Ur?
1. Chapter 1

A/N: New story, woohoo! Already have some more of this one done, so it won't take that long for updates to roll out. This fic will take a couple of chapters to tell and I'll be releasing the next exactly one week from now. Also, I realized a little ago that I mentioned in my review for one of A Hopeless Romantic's stories that Gray had gotten over Ur, however that's a central theme to this story (presenting a scenario where he hasn't) so ignore what I said! Lastly, no set time on when this story takes place but for the sake of it let's put it before the Oracion Seis. Enjoy.  
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The loud ringing of an alarm clock rudely awakened Gray Fullbuster; or rather, it would have if he had been able to get any sleep during the night. Sitting up and groaning, the ice maker cast off the blankets covering his body and slammed his hand onto the alarm, effectively ceasing the noise by breaking the device. Gray looked at the destroyed electronic in disdain, removing his hand from the clock and inspecting the damage much to his displeasure.

"_Great_…" he muttered to himself, "today sure seems promising."

The black haired guild member of Fairy Tail got up from his bed and lazed over to his sink where at the youth splashed cold water onto his face from a running faucet. Planting both hands on the porcelain counter with his arms outstretched, Gray leaned forward and stared at himself in the mirror resting on the wall.

He'd barely been able to get any sleep at all in the past couple of days and it was certainly starting to show. Bags rested under the ice mage's eyes and his features had become worn and drawn out, the color in his face also fading slightly. He'd come back from intense jobs looking better than he was currently.

Gray looked out the window by the edge of his room on the second story and saw that it was viciously snowing outside again for the third day straight. Magnolia had been getting hit by a blizzard for the past couple of days and it seemed like everybody was enjoying themselves except for the mage who grew up in the cold, ironically enough.

Sighing under his breath, Gray walked over to the window and opened it slightly, allowing the cold air to come breezing through without too much snow covering his room. The air nipped at the ice mage's bare skin like needles, however it was a sensation the young man relished after having gotten used to it through his training.

The Fairy Tail wizard half closed his eyes in remorse at the thought of his training since it always led to one person, Ur. He'd tried letting it all go, how he'd basically caused his teacher's death at the hands of Deliora through his rash actions. Tried to forgive himself for all the transgressions he'd caused, how he destroyed what once was his best friend's goals and unknowingly sent the fellow ice maker on a path blinded by his own aspirations. These memories always hit hardest when there was a blizzard since the heavy snowfall reminded Gray of his days running through the mountains with nothing but a pair of boxers and a grimace on his face.

After the ordeal on the island of demons and having witnessed the death of Deliora, Gray thought that he had gotten over all of these regrets. He'd accepted that Ur still lived on and her greatest work, defeating Deliora, had been for the students she called her children. Yet, for whatever reason, Gray would lay sleepless in his bed whenever a snowstorm came through, this one being the worst case yet.

With the window still cracked open, Gray grabbed a chair from a desk on the opposite side of the room and planted the seat in front of it, the back of the chair facing the wall. The ice maker sat down in reverse and leaned forward with his chest resting against the body of the chair and his forehead on the cold glass, peering outside.

The snow was piling rather high in Magnolia and everybody was either busy cleaning the streets or lazing about, enjoying themselves in their own manner. Gray knew he would have to eventually go outside and mingle with people, he just wasn't quite in the mood yet to force himself into action. The ice maker instead decided to continue staring aimlessly out the window, hoping that the day would pass him by like a breath of wind.

Such was not to be the case as moments after the desire crossed his mind a snowball slammed into the window in front of the black haired mage's face, the only thing separating him from a mouthful of snow being the pane of glass.

Gray jolted back in shock from the snowball and the loud thud it made upon impact, tipping over and falling out of his chair in the process. Grumbling to himself and regretting the position he'd sat in, Gray angrily recovered himself before he walked over to the window and threw it open, the snowball still stuck to where it had hit.

"Who the hell threw that?" he yelled out, looking down at and around the street in front of his apartment. As if in response another snowball came hurtling at the ice mage, only this time there was no window blocking him and the projectile flying at him. Grey's vision blurred white as the snowball hit him square in the face, a good portion forcing its way into his mouth.

Gray stood motionless for a time until the snow slipped off of him, his face red from a mix of anger and the coldness of the snowball. As his vision cleared, the ice maker saw two members from his guild just about rolling in the snow, howling in laughter.

The first was a blonde haired girl with a thick, white winter coat on with fur outlining the edges where the coat ended. Matching the coat was a pair of white snow pants that went down past the edges of her boots, preventing any snow from getting inside. On the top of her head was a cotton cap with a ball on the top and it kept in fashion with the rest of her outfit by being the same shade of white.

Standing next to her was a boy dressed in clothing that would make most people cringe at the thought of in such cold conditions. The youth wore a lone black waistcoat that had a darkened orange outlining and loose, white trousers that ended tied at his knees. Since the boy was wearing sandals instead of shoes, the only thing closely resemblant to appropriate clothing for the weather was the scaled scarf that he always wore around his neck.

Immediately recognizing the pair laughing together as Lucy and Natsu, Gray scowled at the two Fairy Tail mages.

"Was that really necessary?" he asked irritably.

"Oh, come on, lighten up!" Lucy yelled up jovially. "I can't believe you fell for that! I mean, honestly, you can't say you didn't see it coming."

"Actually I can…"

"Plus," she added with a snicker, ignoring the black haired youth above her, "You should have _seen_ the look on your face! It was priceless!"

Lucy looked eagerly at her salmon haired companion to see that he returned the same stare and the two erupted into another bout of laughter, much to the ice maker's chagrin. Turning away in annoyance and slight disgust at the pair's happiness in contrast to his own misery, Gray slammed his window shut and began sulking back into the depths of his room.

"Hang on, Gray!" Natsu yelled out after the mage, "I have something important to tell you!"

Gray paused momentarily before begrudgingly turning around. The sound of the dragon slayer's voice had been muffled by the closed window, however the black haired teenager had been able to make out what had been yelled out. Gray walked back to the window and opened it up again, looking down to hear what the fire mage wanted to tell him before another snowball smacked him square in the face a second time.

"Come outside, dumbass!" was all the ice maker could hear from his guildmate before he'd slammed the window shut again so hard that the snow plastered on it from before was knocked loose, falling to the ground. He walked back over to his sink and turned the faucet on again, splashing cold water that now felt warmer thanks the snow onto his face to get it off.

Gray picked the chair that he had fallen off of up from the ground and put it back on its legs, taking the time to sit in it normally afterwards. He leaned back heavily into the furniture, loosening his body fully while staring up at the roof lethargically.

He knew he'd have to go outside eventually; if he didn't the two who were happily laughing at the ice maker's misfortune would come in and force him out. He had at the most a couple of minutes before Natsu would come up and knock on his door which was the last thing Gray needed; the dragon slayer's definition of knock being destroy. In fact, Gray couldn't recall a time that the flaming asshole had been in his room without breaking something.

Knowing his time was up, Gray sluggishly forced himself up before putting on a pair of black cargo shorts with a dark grey, skintight t-shirt. The ice mage ruffled his hair around to make it look like he hadn't been tossing and turning in a bed the whole night before putting on a pair of shoes and walking out of his room, closing the door behind him and making his way down the stairs to the main entrance of the apartment complex.

Once outside, Gray received a slightly bewildered look with an underlying tone of jealousy from Lucy as the celestial wizard looked back and forth between him and Natsu.

"Geeze, what is _with_ you two and wearing basically nothing in a snowstorm?" she asked, rubbing her arms for warmth. "I swear, just looking at you guys makes me cold."

"Then put on some more clothes or something, seriously…" Gray shot back, not in the mood for dealing with people. He stuffed his hands deep inside his pockets, playing with his wallet with one hand and his keys with the other.

Lucy looked at the ice maker peculiarly, frowning at his response. "Something the matter? You seem awfully irritable today, Gray."

Gray walked right up to the two guildmates facing him before blowing past them and pressing onwards, not slowing his pace in the slightest nor turning back to look at them.

As the ice mage continued walking, Natsu leaned towards the celestial wizard standing beside him. "What's got his panties in a bunch?"

"Beats me," Lucy answered with a shrug, "he doesn't seem to be in a good mood, does he?"

Finally, Gray stopped a ways ahead of the two Fairy Tail members and looked back impatiently. "Are you guys coming?"

He waited until they began following his lead before continuing onwards to the guild. He made sure to stay a couple paces ahead of the pair, not really wanting to be outside in the snowstorm. If he stayed far enough ahead the two would keep up with his pace without getting distracted by other things.

The sooner he could get to Fairy Tail, the better. If there was one thing that would make this miserable day go any better, Gray decided, it was some booze to warm his spirits.


	2. Chapter 2

A/N: Thanks to all of the reviewers, my day is made each time I get one. Hopefully I can keep up to your expectations with this story! Enjoy the next chapter and I should have the next one done and ready fairly soon. Look forward to it!

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Gray sat flatly on the edge of his barstool, leaning on the bar in front of him with his chin resting on his arms. He took a deep breath before sighing it out disappointedly.

In front of him sat a short, wide glass filled to the brim with spiced rum, ironically being one of the ice mage's more favored drinks despite it burning his throat any time he drank it. Chips of mostly melted ice swirled around the drink, threatening to spill some of its contents over the side and onto the bar top.

"Something wrong, Gray?" a pleasant voice asked on the opposite side of the bar, a washed out glass being dried by a damp rag in her hands.

"You could say that," Gray blankly responded to Mirajane, his eyes sitting on the rum.

"Want to talk about it?" she politely inquired, already knowing the answer but trying regardless.

"Nah, that's ok. I'll be fine once this damn storm passes over…"

Mirajane frowned at the ice maker. "You say that every time a snowstorm hits, you know?" she pouted. "I don't know what always bothers you, but you should cheer up! Go ice skating, get in a snowball fight, make some really cool sculptures! I know you'd be the best at these things, so this is really your time to shine, Gray!"

Gray carefully picked up the glass of rum, sure to not spill any as he brought it to his mouth for a swill. "Maybe you're right," he said halfheartedly. All he wanted to do was to drink himself silly alone and in peace, the sooner he could get the pink haired bartender off of his case the better.

Mirajane responded with an enthusiastic and warm smile. "You bet I'm right, now go out there and have some fun!"

"I'll get _right_ on it, Mira." Gray's comment was laced with a sarcasm that escaped the bartender's attention thanks to her naivety. It was something he counted on, anyways.

"Good to hear," she finished, handing the cleaned glass to a new customer before turning her attention to him. "Here you go, Master Makarov!"

"Thanks as always, Mirajane." Makarov grew his arm to wrap around the cute bartender in a slightly perverted fashion.

"Master!" Mirajane pouted, holding off the guild master's attempts to cop a feel.

"Oooh, keep calling me that!" the wizard saint halfheartedly jested, partially wanting her to continue doing so despite the humorous nature of his comment.

Mirajane quickly poured Makarov's drink, a hot chocolate, into his cup before storming off to another part of the bar, leaving Gray and Makarov alone with each other.

Ignoring the rambunctiousness of the guild master and bartender, Gray took a large gulp of rum before placing the glass back down on a coaster, his eyes once again staring off into the distance at nothing in particular. Had he been his usual self, Gray would have easily noticed that Makarov had been staring at the ice mage since the moment Mirajane had left.

"Something troubling you?" Makarov knew something was wrong; he simply wanted to keep formalities with his child. There was a worried look in the old man's eyes.

"_Nope._" Sarcastic as usual, Gray continued to stare at the mountain of liquor bottles in front of him, vainly hoping that his tone and mannerism would send the message to Makarov that he wanted solitude for the moment.

Whether or not the wizard saint was able to catch onto Gray's act was unknown as the older man continued to press on regardless.

"I've known you for a long time, Gray…"

Gray frowned to himself, aware that the geezer was about to do one of those reminiscing things older people did all the time. He sighed audibly in chagrin and took another drink of rum.

"So I know well enough that there isn't much I can say to cheer you up right now."

The black haired youth paused his irritation for a moment. The last sentence from Makarov had surprised the ice maker since he'd expected the older man to try to lecture him. He gave the guild master a curious look and was met with a warm smile.

"You're like a son to me, you know? I've seen you grow up from an audacious young boy to a strapping young lad…" Makarov paused to take a sip of the hot chocolate sitting in front of him, lightly blowing on the steaming drink to cool it.

It was strange, Gray thought, why was Makarov saying these things to him? The ice mage found all of his attention being focused on the small man before him now crying out in pain from burning his mouth with the hot chocolate. A small smirk found its way onto Gray's face at the sight; his master sure was a goofy man, managing to burn his mouth despite his careful efforts to avoid it.

"That's why," Makarov continued on, his tone becoming serious and his humorously pained expression abandoned, "when I see you doing something laudable it's my duty as a parent to step in and reprimand you."

Gray's smirk quickly disappeared and he looked grimly at the tiny wizard, the old man now standing on his stool facing the ice maker.

"Let it go, Gray. Stop living in the past and grow up already." Makarov's eyes wandered to the ice maker's hand that held his drink, the grip tightening firmly. The guild master of Fairy Tail silently wondered if the grip would break the glass. He returned his gaze to the black haired youth. "I don't know what happened between you and this Ur that makes you become like this every time a blizzard comes through, but it needs to stop now."

Gray looked furiously at the man standing before him. Without warning, the ice maker threw back the rest of his drink and slammed the glass onto the bar, the loud slam echoing throughout the guild and bringing most of it to a silence. Those unaware of the situation quickly followed the stares of those watching and soon enough everyone's eyes were on the two currently staring the other down.

Memories flooded through Gray's mind and he couldn't even begin to fathom where he should begin in his rebuttal. Looking around frenetically, the black haired mage saw that all eyes were on him and quickly found the desire for isolation quickly overcoming that of his grievances with Makarov.

Gray stood up and threw his stool out behind him, the piece of furniture sliding out upright across the floor effortlessly. The ice maker began to make his way towards the exit before stopping momentarily.

"I'm going out, I'll be back later." The words were quick and direct, non-debatable. He didn't bother to turn back when he spoke nor to grab his shirt which rested on his stool in the middle of the floor. Without another word, Gray Fullbuster walked to the main doors of Fairy Tail amidst cries of concern, throwing them open. Furious winds blew in waves of snow and the insanely cold air stung and watered his eyes.

Standing directly in front of the ice maker was Erza Scarlet, her trademark armor on as usual despite the high intensity weather she currently sought refuge from.

"Oh, Gray!" She said, startled, walking in past him before noticing the distressed look on his face, "What's going on?"

Gray irately turned from the swordswoman without a word in response. Why couldn't people just leave him alone during the one goddamn day he didn't want to be bothered? Also, how come everyone always seemed to come in at the worst times?

"Gray, the hell is wrong with you? Don't turn your back on Master Makarov like that!" Natsu spat out in flames.

"Forget that, Natsu! Gray, the weather outside has worsened since we've gotten here. If you go out now, even _you'll_ be in trouble!" Lucy got up from her table alongside Natsu.

"She's right, you really shouldn't—" Erza followed up before being shut inside by Gray.

The voices of concern didn't even faze the ice maker as he slammed the doors closed behind him, the snow that had managed to build up in the short amount of time the doors were open falling to the ground amidst the rest of the light sheet that had built up.

"Oi, Gray, you bastard! Come back here and apologize!" Natsu yelled out to a person who was clearly no longer within earshot. When the target of the dragon slayer's aggression failed to respond, Natsu angrily followed, rolling up sleeves he wasn't even wearing.

"I'll teach you some manners myself, then!"

"Wait, Natsu," Lucy pleaded, grabbing onto the fire eater's arm while trying to hold him back, "You going out there isn't going to solve anything!"

"Like I care!"

"Ugh, FINE." Lucy quickly gave up, letting go of the fire mage, the sudden release throwing him forward unexpectedly. "If you're going then I'm coming with you."

Natsu rushed towards the exit of the guild in hot pursuit of Gray, Lucy trying to follow close behind. His progress was suddenly halted by a violent tugging on his scarf and the dragon slayer fell down backwards, clutching at his throat. He looked above him to see Erza with a firm grasp on his scarf.

"And _where_ do you think you're going?" Erza asked coldly with a strong glare. "Lucy was right, it's no joke outside. You'd end up in a world of trouble if you're out there; I honestly don't think anyone will be able to get back home from the guild in this state."

Worried groans suddenly arose from all around the guild at the information presented by the scarlet haired woman.

"Doesn't that apply to him, too?" Natsu argued, "Someone has to get his ass back here!" It was under the guise of interest for Gray's well-being, however Natsu only wanted to drag him back for punishment.

Erza wasn't fooled by the act and she narrowed her eyes at the salmon haired wizard.

"Erza, please," Lucy distracted the swordswoman's attention, "he's going to go out regardless, you know that. At least let us go now so we can catch up to Gray sooner than later."

Erza contemplated what Lucy had told her.

"Plus," Lucy continued with a wink of encouragement, "I'm going to keep _this one_ in line." She gestured to Natsu, still struggling on the ground.

The scarlet haired woman looked over in the direction of the bar to where Makarov sat. "Master Makarov?"

Makarov, who had not once looked from the doors Gray had rammed through, looked quietly at Erza. "They're old enough to do whatever the hell they want as long as they come back safely!" He'd yelled the line, however Erza could feel the emptiness behind his words.

"Very well." Erza let go of Natsu's scarf and he and Lucy quickly left the guild in pursuit of Gray.

Wanting to follow them but restraining herself for the moment, Erza replaced Gray's stool to its rightful spot before sitting in it next to Makarov.

"What happened, Master?" she calmly asked, a touch of worry in her voice.

"Just a family quarrel is all…" Makarov sadly responded, his eyes distant. He looked at Erza. "If you wouldn't mind me asking, would you go look for Gray as well?"

Erza nodded her head. "I planned on it."

"That's good," Makarov continued with a weak smile, "When you see him again, tell him I'm sorry." The guild master's face brightened a little. "If it's you, my guess is he'll finally get around to talking about what's been bothering him. I have something of an idea, but there's no way he'd talk about those things to an old fart like me."

"What's bothering him?" Erza asked passionately. She desperately wanted to know what had gotten her childhood friend into such a state.

"That's not for me to say." Makarov meekly looked at Erza apologetically. "Sorry for forcing you to follow a selfish old man's request like this."

Erza looked sternly at the wizard saint. "Don't say such things, Master! You've got nothing to apologize for. I'll go get Gray and bring him back so we can resolve this!"

"Thanks."

Erza got up from the stool and grabbed Gray's shirt before making her way to the exit of the guild. Taking a deep breath and bracing herself, Erza opened the doors and walked out into the cold, stormy night.


	3. Chapter 3

A/N: Sort of been a while since the last update, hasn't it? Sorry for that, seems to get harder and harder lately to get things written. Also, for whatever reason this uploader always gives me trouble with spacing out segments (always edits lines and dashes away when used to break sections) so bear with me on it for the moment. Anyways, wanted to wait until I had more finished to release this so that it wouldn't be another large gap between updates but I figure if it's done I may as well release it and just keep working on the next. I'll try to have the next chapter up soon, though it'll have to be after finals! Enjoy.

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It was cold.

Actually, Erza thought, just saying it was cold was an understatement. It was _freezing_ outside. She absentmindedly ran her hands up and down her sides to generate some meager amount of warmth to comfort her. When all that was returned was the sound of gauntlets scraping on armor, Erza looked down and scowled.

She wasn't very well equipped for the hazardous weather outside, she belatedly realized. Armor, while very supportive and protective, could get cold pretty easily in the worst conditions. And if her slowly numbing body, stinging nostrils, and dried, teary eyes said anything; these conditions were pretty bad for armor.

Begrudgingly the scarlet haired mage requipped out of her favored armor and into a warm winter coat with matching leggings and boots to go along. Warmth instantly embraced the swordswoman and she reveled in the sensation for a quick moment before realizing she couldn't feel her ears. It wasn't much of a problem, however, as Erza simply requipped a wool cap to cover her head, her hair parting behind her ears.

As nice as the warmth was, the scarlet haired mage couldn't help but feel somewhat naked in the clothing she wore. She'd grown up wearing armor around herself and taking it off only made her feel vulnerable. Thinking about why she was in the cold and why she had to discard the armor that comforted her, Erza frowned.

It wasn't like him to act this way. As long as she had known Gray Fullbuster, Erza had never recalled him storming out of any situation in such a manner. Perhaps that was the reason why she felt so concerned about him and was now pursuing the ice mage, or perhaps there was something more to it than she realized. She pursed her lips, deep in thought.

"What's bothering you, Gray?" She asked absentmindedly to herself.

The swordswoman scoured her memories to see if there was any trigger to what could have caused this reaction from her childhood friend. It took a couple of minutes of her wading through alleyways and street walks to recall the events of a particular island she'd been to a few months prior.

It was a bizarre situation, indeed. Apparently Natsu, Lucy, and Happy had gotten a hold of an S-Ranked mission without approval from Master Makarov and had embarked on the quest. It was requested from certain villagers pertaining to an alleged demon island, people who hoped that they could be rescued from their curse. She had heard that Gray was assigned to bring the group back before they could make a mess out of everything and yet he somehow ended up accompanying them on their objective. It hadn't been until later, when Erza had returned from her own matters, that she had been asked to bring the others back to the guild.

It hadn't taken her long to find the wayward group and, while disappointed in the ice mage at first, Erza had come to understand why he'd ended up tagging along with the others. It was probably the first time she'd noticed it, but when grouped together her childhood friends along with Lucy had a strange way of drawing others, especially her, into their shenanigans. Erza had hardly done any missions with Natsu or Gray before Lucy had shown up and then before she knew it the four of them were basically a team.

She didn't mind it too much, though, as time spent with Gray and the others was becoming more and more enjoyable. The scarlet haired mage didn't quite understand why that was the case but didn't dwell on it too much.

Erza continued blindly wading through various roads and paths before realizing that she wasn't making any progress. At the rate she was going at it would take days before she'd even come close to finding the ice maker. She paused by a building, leaning against it, and racked her mind for any clues that would indicate where Gray had gone off to.

The warrior's eyes lit up as a certain location very special to her came into mind. It was a long shot, and chances were likely that Gray wasn't there, but Erza couldn't get rid of the nagging feeling that she would find him there.

After all, it's where he'd found her so many times before when she was down on her luck.

...

Gray sat motionless on the snow covered riverbank while staring across the body of water it bordered. It was a sheet of pure, unmarred white that stretched out as far as the ice maker could see in the dark and disastrous weather.

The male sighed and a shiver escaped unconsciously. He finally realized that barging out of the guild in such a manner without even grabbing his shirt was probably not the best idea that he'd ever had. It only made things worse that he was stuck without both his wallet and keys, having taken them out when he'd bought a few drinks from Mira. He wouldn't be able to get into his apartment and the last place he wanted to be right now was back at the guild. So he just sat, alone with his thoughts and, more recently, his regrets.

Gray chuckled. If nothing else, at least the buzz he had from the rum was keeping him somewhat warm, even if it was a false sense of it. Not that the weather outside bothered him much nor the sensation of being cold. He'd basically grown up in these conditions, after all.

It dawned on the mage that he was sitting at the very bank that he had found Erza crying at all those years ago when she had first joined Fairy Tail. There wasn't any landmark that confirmed this for Gray that he could recognize; rather it was a feeling that he couldn't shake. He'd somehow stumbled across the spot that held so much meaning to him. The spot where he'd finally accepted Erza as a friend and comrade.

Gray thought there was a touch of irony in his situation, sitting there alone and cold with his own troubles weighing heavily on him, but he couldn't exactly place how. Maybe it was that he was the one who needed consolation for a change.

_Yeah, right. Like anyone cares about my terribly uninteresting past. Even if I explained why I'm this way, they'd just tell me to suck it up and move on with my life._

He'd told himself the same thing, many times before. "Suck it up and get on with your life." It had been years since his teacher had died because of his actions. Except that wasn't right, either. He'd been averse to admitting it at first, but Ur was the closest thing he'd had to having a real mother.

Sure, he had parents that he could vaguely remember before Deliora showed up and took everything from him, but those were just that; vague memories. His strongest childhood memories came from his teachings by Ur while accompanying Lyon and onward after he joined Fairy Tail. There wasn't much he could remember from when he wasn't an orphan, and maybe that's what had pained him so much about losing Ur.

The first time he'd lost his parents, there was nothing he could do to prevent it. The second time had been his entirely his fault.

Gray punched the ground next to him in frustration. The crumpling noise of snow giving way beneath his fist was met with the loud crack of his knuckles slamming into the layer of ice below. A twinge of pain surrounded his hand and the mage brought it out of the packed snow, blood trailing along his fingers. Small lacerations covered his knuckles from where they had come in contact with the ice.

Gray welcomed the pain; anything to distract him from his heart-wrenching thoughts that he couldn't get rid of. He found himself craving a cigarette and cursed loudly when he remembered he had no money on him. Not that it would have mattered if he did, Gray saw that just about every store was locked up and the lights were off; the ones with lights still on barred entry from the multiple feet of snow piled against the door.

The ice mage looked at his cut up hand while holding it gingerly, flexing each finger to make sure he hadn't done any serious damage. With his free hand, Gray rummaged around his cargo shorts' pockets to see if he had anything that could cover his bloody, now throbbing hand. He may not have broken anything, but he hadn't exactly been gentle.

Turning out nothing but empty pockets, Gray sighed in exasperation. He knew he was going to have to go back to the guild eventually, but now people were going to think he got in a fight with someone. At the very least, they would think him a nutcase considering everything that had happened. Coming back with a bandaged hand was one thing, but a freshly hurt one with no attempt at dressing the injury was quite another.

"Need a bandage?" a soothing voice from behind asked calmly.

Gray looked over his shoulder to see a figure in pink winter apparel standing over him, a cloth extended in one hand with the other at their hip. He looked upwards to see a hair a vibrant shade of red that lightly covered a face he knew all too well.

"What's with the pink?"

Erza's face contorted into something of a grimace. "_That's_ the first thing you say? Not an 'oh, thanks Erza!' or a 'gee, sure is nice to see you came all this way to find me, Erza, what's up?' I can't believe you."

"Yeah… but… _pink?_"

"Oh my god! Again with the color! Why, do you not like it or something?"

"It's not that I don't like—"

"It's supposed to be like a strawberry for your information. If you had half the appreciation for them as I do then you might just be able to understand why this is so stylish."

"I wouldn't exactly call it stylish…"

Erza lifted an eyebrow. "Oh? Then what _would_ you call it, mister fashion expert who doesn't wear a shirt ever, even in a blizzard?"

_Ouch._ "I'd call it cute," the ice mage blurted out before he could catch himself. He shirked back apprehensively, not knowing if calling Erza cute was a dangerous thing or not.

The two guildmates stared at each other for a long moment awkwardly, the tension growing as neither knew how to respond. Finally, Erza coughed into her glove –was she blushing?– and withdrew her hand holding the cloth before looking off to the side indignantly.

"Fine then! I guess you don't want this."

"Wait!" Gray pleaded. "I'm sorry, Erza. Thanks for coming all this way for me! Can I have the bandage now? My hand is really starting to hurt."

Erza looked at the ice maker sideward, a look of mischief overcoming her features. "I don't know, maybe you should ask me more nicely. Call me 'Master Erza' and I might reconsider."

Gray's blank expression said everything.

"Or…" Erza continued, looking downward girlishly while pressing her pointer fingers together. "I guess if you called me cute one more time…" Erza stopped suddenly. What was she saying? It must have sounded even more ridiculous than telling him to call her master; she couldn't believe she'd told him to call her that again. Sure, hardly anybody ever told her she looked cute, and it was generally only girls that did it, but that was no reason to feel this lightheaded about it, _especially_ from someone like Gray. Why was she feeling so flustered right now and why was she making such a big deal about the bandage? She should just give it to him already; his hand was all cut up for crying out loud!

Erza looked at her childhood friend and saw him as stunned as she imagined he would look. The blank stare had turned incredulous, as if the idea of Erza the Titania entertaining the notion of being called cute was unbelievable. Was she really that intimidating? Did nobody really see her as a feminine sort of person, just a force of nature? Her lightheaded feeling turned sour and her shoulders slumped. She limply handed Gray the bandage and he took it without a word of protest. The ice maker looked like he wanted to say something but nothing came.

"A-Anyways, how did you find me? Did Master Makarov send you?" Gray awkwardly fumbled out, desperately trying to change the conversation. If Erza noticed his unusual behavior she didn't show it, instead instantly latching on to the change of subject.

"Yeah, he asked me to come find you as a favor, but I'd have come anyways. As for finding you, I just had a hunch that you'd be here, I guess. It's where you've always found me."

"Yeah…"

"Anyways, what happened, Gray? That's not like you. I've never seen you lose your temper like that before. I think I speak for everyone when I ask what's bothering you?"

Gray didn't even bother trying to hide what had been on his mind the past few days. He answered the scarlet haired woman's answer with a single word.

"Ur."

It finally made sense to Erza and she knew that things were going to get a little bit more complicated.

...

"We're totally lost…" Lucy sighed.

"Nonsense!" Natsu replied energetically. "I know exactly where we're going! We just need to go…" He paused for a moment, looking down the two alleyways to each side before compulsively walking towards the one on his left. "This way!"

"You're just going in random directions you idiot!" Lucy yelled at the dragon slayer. "Why did I agree to come with you? I should have known that you were just going to get us lost in the middle of the city."

"Aye!"

"And what about you, Happy? Can't you fly around or something and figure out where we are?"

The winged cat looked blankly at Lucy for a moment before realizing how good of an idea it was.

"WOW! You're right, why didn't I think of that?"

Lucy buried her face into her hands. It was going to be a very long night.


End file.
